OST of the Day #50: Mario Kart 8 - Animal Crossing Medley 🌷

taco.cat (67)in #animalcrossing • 4 years ago (edited)

Hey Steemit!

OSTs make up the majority of the music I listen to, and they're so underrated I just had to share them! Feel free to listen while reading. 😊

Oh man have I really written 50 OST posts already?! That's insane! It's been super fun sharing all these songs and games on Steemit. I still remember when I first had the idea for this series (while taking a shower in Finland), but I never thought I'd be writing so many! And there are still so many songs I want to share so here's to another 50 more! 🥂

Anyway since we did love-themed songs last month, I was thinking what theme we could do for this month and I thought spring/nature-related songs would be quite interesting to explore. Since it's March, Spring is finally here! Not that I would really know since Singapore is hot and humid all the time, but in other parts of the world (and in Animal Crossing), the snow is finally melting, grass is coming back and flowers are gonna be blooming!

Image result for seinfeld spring rejuvenation clip

I'm not really a floral kinda girl, but I do like flowers in their natural habitat, and in preparation for the upcoming release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, I thought an Animal Crossing song would be a perfect start to this new theme of Spring!

But this is not just any Animal Crossing song; it's actually an Animal Crossing medley from Mario Kart 8! A special treat for the 50th post!

Fun fact: this is actually my own video for once; because I couldn't find another video with all the songs together

So if you're unfamiliar, Mario Kart 8 is a kart racing video game and the eighth major installment in the Mario Kart series, developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was announced at E3 2013 and released worldwide in May 2014.

Like in other games in the series, in Mario Kart 8, players control characters from the Mario franchise and participate in kart racing on various race tracks, using a variety of items to hinder opponents or gain advantages in the race. While incorporating game mechanics originally featured in earlier Mario Kart games, Mario Kart 8 introduces anti-gravity sections that allow players to drive on walls or ceilings, in addition to allowing them to bump into one another for a short boost.

Source: noobfeed

And I've written about Animal Crossing before, but just a quick recap: it is a social simulation video game series (kinda like The Sims) developed and published by Nintendo and created by Katsuya Eguchi. In Animal Crossing, the player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals, carrying out various activities including fishing, bug catching, fossil hunting, etc. The series is notable for its open-ended gameplay and extensive use of the video game consoles' internal clock and calendar to simulate real passage of time.

Image result for animal crossing new leaf wallpaper"

Anyway, Mario Kart 8 was the first in the series to get DLC (downloadable content) after release, with a free set of Mercedes-Benz-themed vehicles, and 2 purchasable DLC packs; each containing three additional characters, four additional vehicles and eight additional tracks; some of which are based on other Nintendo franchises.

One of those tracks was based on Animal Crossing!

Image result for mario kart 8 animal crossing

Source: htxt.africa

And the really cool thing about this track is; like the main game, it features 4 different seasons, with different landscapes and songs to go along with them!

Source: supermariowiki

Even the timing is seemingly different in each of the seasons; morning for Spring, Afternoon for Summer, Evening for Fall, and Night for Winter. A really nice callback to the real-time feature in Animal Crossing.

I thought this track was so unique because of how much there is in the background and surroundings of the track itself, not to mention that it randomises which season the track appears in every time you play. What a cool concept for a Mario Kart track!

Source: nintendowire

And the music! Oh man it's just soo good! I love how the song for each season has a different vibe. Spring is happy and 'calm', with the instruments being slightly higher-pitched, but it's still considerably upbeat since it's a Mario Kart track. The drums are more subtle, and the flute and trumpet is more pronounced. Then you move to Summer when it's even more upbeat, and each of the instruments are more prominent and louder as well; from the acoustic guitar to the double bass, and especially the drums.

Fall is more mellow and jazzy, with a bass guitar and accordion on the melody and harmony, instead of brass instruments. And different drums as well (bongos.?). Winter is cheerful but with a slightly slower tempo (fitting for the snow on the track slowing everyone down). The sleigh bells and xylophone really give off that Christmasy vibe, and the melody is played by an alto sax that sounds soo smooth.

Image result for mario kart 8 animal crossing autumn

Source: gameranx

On first listening to the tracks all at once (or if you're busy playing the track on Mario Kart) you'll think that all the songs are the same. While the melodies may be similar, if you're familiar with the Animal Crossing games and their amazing music, you'll hear some differences. Each season's song is actually a remix of different themes from the series!

The Spring theme is the main theme from Animal Crossing Gamecube, Summer is from Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Fall is from Animal Crossing: Wild World, while Winter is a remake of the Toy Day song! So not only is the seasons and real-time mechanic represented, but the soundtrack as well!

Kenta Nagata, the sound director for Mario Kart 8, did an absolutely fantastic job with this track. It's so creative and the composers were phenomenal as well, incorporating all the different themes in. A lot of people always make fun of Nintendo, saying they only make "kid games" but they don't realise so much genius goes into the games, even in "just another Mario Kart".

Here's a behind the scenes look of all the superbly talented musicians performing for this track:

Thanks so much for reading!